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Phew!  We are back!  After an exodus to Wordpress, I have decided I missed my old posts and the easy format of Blogger.  As I nestle in, please visit often to read our posts.  We love comments, too.

As a part of Ian's homeschooling he will be studying History and those who played a part.  Here he will share what he has learned.  We will start with...

Dr. William Beaumont

-Written by Ian Hall

William Beaumont was born in Lebanon, Connecticut on November 21, 1785. His family moved from England in 1635. William was the second born out of nine children. His parents were named Samuel and Lucretia Beaumont. In 1807, William left for Champlain. There, he became the schoolmaster and secretary for the local debating society.

On September 13, 1812, when he was 26, William went into the army as a surgeon’s mate, and was paid $30 a month. In 1813, The British army retreated, blowing up the main magazine in the process. The explosion caused lots of injuries. Beaumont was treating injuries, some that included using a cylindrical saw to cut off pieces of bone, to relieve pressure on the brain. (ouch!)

After the war, Beaumont left the army and began private practice in June, 1815, in Plattsburgh, NY.

There he met Deborah Green Platt. In December, 1819, William went back to the army as a post surgeon. He was sent to Fort Mackinac in Lake Huron. The hospital was in a storehouse. They had little supplies, and no thermometer.

In August, 1821, Beaumont left to go back to Plattsburgh, and married Deborah. They moved to Fort Mackinac, and brought Melancton Smith, Deborah’s 11-year-old step-nephew. Melancton’s father was Colonel Melancton Smith who died in 1818.

On June 6, 1822, Alexis St. Martin was shot  by an accidental discharge of a shotgun in the upper left of his abdomen.  He was shot less than three feet away from the gun. This was at the American Fur Company on Mackinac Island. St. Martin was brought to Dr. Beaumont, leaving the doctor to find the man’s latest meal gushing out of the wound. Beaumont cleaned the hole, but could not keep the contents of his stomach from falling out unless it was bandaged.

On August 1, 1825, Beaumont began to experiment on St. Martin’s stomach. Those experiments included tying string to a piece of food and lowering it into St. Martin’s stomach. After a few hours, Beaumont would take it out to see the extent of digestion. In one experiment, the food was removed after five hours for Alexis had a severe stomachache. The next day, St. Martin still had stomach problems, and Beaumont helped. Six days later, St. Martin didn’t eat for 17 hours (on Doctor’s orders!) so Beaumont could find the temperature of the stomach, which was 100 degrees.

A month later in September, Alexis went back to Canada, got married and had kids, so Beaumont had to wait to experiment on him.

In June, 1829, St. Martin came back to the doctor, but he brought his family this time. However, the doctor was busy and could not continue work until December. When he observed St. Martin on dry days, he saw that the temperature of the stomach increased, and vice versa on humid days. Beaumont would have St. Martin eat a meal, and then would later take out samples of the food and put them in separate vials of water, and gastric juice.  He observed that cold stomach acid does nothing, so digestion needs heat.  He also learned that when Alexis showed anger, it slowed the digestion process.

Near the end of 1832, Beaumont left the army to experiment on Alexis more. Beaumont tried a variety of different foods again, this time including sausage, raw oysters, and mutton. He saw that exercise helped the digestion. In April, 1833, Beaumont published his work and findings in a book called: Experiments and observations on the gastric juice and the physiology of digestion.  A month or so later Alexis left for Canada, and Beaumont went into private medical practice.

Dr. William Beaumont kept up the private practice in St. Louis. In March, 1853, Beaumont was leaving a patient when he slipped on the icy steps and hit his head. He died a month later on April 25, and was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.

http://www.amazon.com/Experiments-Observations-Gastric-Physiology-Digestion/dp/0766127168

The Oven Works!

Works!

Since new (two years now), my oven in the Eagle would not stay lit. More precisely, the pilot would not remain ignited. When at the Jayco factory last year, it was on my “fix-it” list; but, I had other issues I wanted fixed as well and focused on those repairs first. Long story short, the oven was overlooked and remained inoperable.

As much as this should have been an inconvenience, it really wasn’t.  In fact, we contemplated taking it out and replacing it with something more important, like a wine fridge.  We also had the world’s best grill (Thanks to mom and dad…and now bequeathed to Jay and Michelle.) on which to cook and bake.

So, we converted the oven to a bread-box and put the oven repair back on the “fix-it” list.  It should be noted that I checked the thermocouple with a multimeter in the past and all checked OK. So, today being a cool damp day, I figured I would take the thermocouple out and just replace it. When I went to disconnect the gas line from the couple, I discovered that the nut was finger loose. Once I tightened this connection I could hear a ‘click’. VOILA!  The pilot light lit.

Now we need to find a new place for our bread…

LED Bulbs

In the past two years, I have had to replace more than half of my halogen ceiling lamps inside my Eagle. The GY6.35 bulbs were blowing out at a rate of one every 3 months; so, I finally bit-the-bullet and ordered 14 LED lamps to replace the halogens. I opted for the “warm white” effect. Initially, I ordered two @ $14.95 and paid an additional $3.90 for shipping. Although the web-store I purchased thru provided dimensions/specifications for the LED lamp I was purchasing, I figured I would just get two at first to make sure they fit with my OEM glass ceiling fixtures. Well the first two arrived today; and they fit and light just like the halogens. The immediate difference I noticed, is the lack of heat that the LED emits. As most of you know, halogens cast off enough heat to badly hurt you if you touch a bulb while lit (or even after a few minutes once it is off – they retain enough heat to fry an egg it seems). So, after successfully installing the first batch of LEDs, I just ordered 12 more to complete the switch-over. Since I spent more than $99.00 on this second order, I received free shipping. The overall cost will be saved in longevity and energy consumption. I highly recommend this “modification”…

http://www.lalightingstore.com/proled-3-6-watt-gy6-35-led-12v-ac-dc/

After testing the old bulb’s temp (158˚) and the new bulb’s temp (70˚), I know we made the right decision.

Small Plastic Brick x 10,000

We now have less than two months left in New England before we hoist anchor and set the wheels in motion.  The excitement is building, but the time will pass quickly.  It calls to mind my teaching days, during those last two months of school; excited for summer to begin but overwhelmed with trying to accomplish all of the end-of-year requirements by the last day.  Considering we have been stationary for almost a year, you’d think we wouldn’t have to do much to get underway, but we are still purging.

The Eagle weighs, including full water and propane, 12,498 lbs and can hold an extra 3302 lbs of cargo.  That’s a total of 15,800 lbs.  The truck can tow 18,000 lbs.  3302 lbs can add up quickly considering the electronics, pots and pans, linens, clothing, books, toys, toys, toys, and other items we will be bringing.  We do not want to be stopped and fined for being over weight.  So, before we hit the road, we need to hit the CAT Scale and check our weight.   http://catscale.com/

There are certain things, of course, that we cannot say goodbye to.  One of which is the multitude of Legos that belong to the children with whom we travel.  Legos are small, but even small things have mass.

According to an unofficial Lego site, each 1×4 Lego weighs 1.64 g which equals 0.057849298 oz.  That means 275 1×4 Lego pieces weigh 1 pound.  Since we most likely have at least 10,000 Legos, that would equal about 36.5 pounds of Legos.  And since most of the Legos are larger than a 1×4, that weight is probably an underestimate.  Not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things, but weight none-the-less.

So, we continue to make decisions about what goes and what stays.  What we can store (poor parents) and what we can give away.  And we begin the end of Phase…something-or-other… to head full-on into Full-Timing.

We have moved....come see us at  http://www.rvingnorthamerica.com



Thanks.

Pork and Sauce

Decided on pork chops for dinner this evening.  Since I cannot bake them, I cooked them in an electric skillet.  Started by making a rub of dried oregano, dried basil, onion and garlic powders, and a pinch of chili powder.  Added some olive oil and mixed to a paste.  Seasoned the chops with salt and pepper, then rubbed them with the paste.  Seared both sides for about 5-6 minutes, then let rest.  I wanted to make a sauce so added the only thing I had available, Apple Cider, to the drippings.  A pat of butter, reduced, and poured onto the chops.

One of my favorite shows is Chopped on Food Network.  When I have very little in the "pantry" I pretend I am on Chopped and must make due with what I have.  I have to say, the sauce was very tasty (sweet but not too sweet and just the right thickness) and the chops were tender.  I used to cook the death out of my chops, fearful of undercooking them and poisoning everyone.  I have learned to let the meat rest.  Which, by the way, produced a nice 1/2 cup of fresh drippings that I added to the sauce before it was finished.

I have no pictures.  Probably wouldn't have posted anyway as there was really only one golden-seared chop, so nothing too pretty.  But the real reason is I was so freaking stressed out after cooking (add in 3 microwaved red bliss potatoes and a pathetic attempt at fried biscuits) in a small, tight space with no room, that I had no desire to take out the camera.  I just had Steve pour me a glass and sat to eat.  Luckily, it tasted good.  The kids even ate all of theirs up!  So everyone got a mini St. Patrick's Day cupcake.

My goal...a sauce with every protein.

Do you have a favorite sauce recipe?

Missing Things

Every now and then, I miss things.  Like my dishwasher, space, an in-house laundry area.  But, I get over it fairly quickly.  The kids will mention a thing here and there that they miss, and then, quickly move on as well.  Except for my daughter.  Lately, she has been pretty weepy about a few things.  One thing being a stuffed dinosaur that we donated before we moved into the RV.  She liked it a lot back then, but it was huge with a long neck and the kids have so many dolls!  I thought maybe I actually brought it to my mom's, but so far, it hasn't shown up there either.  This dino has been bringing on tears daily for over a week.

Today, her newly-cptured Lady bug, Spots, fly away, despite his mangled right wing.  Waterworks.

I am slightly concerned there is a little regression of sorts going on here. Maybe this need to be stationary in CT for so long is starting to wear on her.  The vacation-esque quality of the trip is disappearing.  I hope the others don't start to feel sad.  She seems sad.

Waiting on the next month for things to change and feel different enough to get rejuvenated.  The light is at the end of the tunnel...we can start to see it.  November is coming.  Just have to hang in there a little longer.

Zuma vs Diesel

When you go from a sticks & bricks home to a home-on-wheels, you leave the mortgage behind (unless, of course, you still owe the bank for the rig and truck you drive!!!!) There can be an incredible amount of savings living in a smaller home and doing with less. However, if you are truly going to travel, you have to put fuel into your engine. And fuel costs money. And if that fuel happens to be diesel, then you are going to spend a small fortune. A few years ago diesel was cheaper than gas. That has changed. It is now, in some places, a whole $1.00 more than gas. And the price climbs weekly.

http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/

So, to attempt to combat this excruciatingly annoying, uncontrollable thorn in our sides, we have purchased a scooter.

I hate the name scooter, so let’s forever-more call it as it should be called…a ZUMA!

A ZUMA 125 to be exact.

This pretty little lady gets 89 miles per gallon. Well above the 14-16 we are getting with the Dodge 3500. Of course, you can’t pull a fifth-wheel with it, but it can take Steve to work and Ian to karate and carry some groceries. All for a gallon or so. We’ll be doing a cost-analysis, so check back to see how quickly the $3200 is paid off.

New Site in the Making

I am currently working on our new website.

 I will be moving all of our updates to this new .com within the next 2 months, so I hope everyone will still follow us.  I'll keep you updated on the progress.  

So far, we have pages set up for our blog, road-schooling, organization, things made in America, wine, cooking, and campground reviews.   We hope the info we share will help other RVers and part-time campers choose good campgrounds and enjoy every minute of their trip.

Keep checking in.



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